This invention relates to collars and associated components useful in conjunction with watercraft and more particularly to collars adapted to surround or envelope most or all of the perimeters of boats to which they are attached in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,685 to Hemphill, et al., incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference, illustrates and describes foam collar systems for boats. Also discussed in the Hemphill, et al. patent are numerous other patents disclosing such things as inflatable flotation collars and foam stabilizing members for various watercraft. Although potentially useful for multiple purposes, the collars and members described in these patents do not extend about the entire perimeters of the hulls to which they are intended to be attached.
The Dutch company Le Comte promotes a rigid-hulled boat having what it calls a xe2x80x9cwrap-around stern.xe2x80x9d As depicted in literature of Le Comte, the boat includes a continuous inflatable collar surrounding its perimeter, with the collar extending behind the hull of the boat above its outboard motor. According to the literature:
The wrap-around version has the collar running the entire periphery of the hull, positioned on the concave collar resting-guards, which also transverse [sic] the stern and form an integral part of the transom.
Placing the collar wholly above the motor may, however, be disadvantageous, as the buoyancy of the collar cannot readily prevent the motor from being submerged under certain conditions.
Other continuous xe2x80x9cwrap-aroundxe2x80x9d collars may exist (at least outside the United States) for boats having inboard engines, with the collars likely attached directly to the sterns of the rigid hulls of the boats. Whether employed with boats having inboard or outboard engines, these continuous collars typically are fitted from the tops of boats, requiring cranes or other equipment to suspend the collars over the hull peripheries and lower them thereonto. Antennae and hull superstructures conceivably may be damaged by contact with the collars during the fitting operation, as may the collars themselves through contact with the antennae or superstructures.
The present invention provides alternative collar assemblies for use with watercraft including rigid-hulled boats. Of the xe2x80x9cwrap-aroundxe2x80x9d type described by Le Comte, the assemblies incorporate a split, rather than continuous, collar both to facilitate installation and to reduce the risk of damage during the installation process. Versions of the collars designed for use with boats having outboard engines additionally can provide buoyancy counteracting certain effects of rough seas (or ramp launches by the stern), reducing the possibility of the engines becoming completely submerged. Whether inflatable or made of foam (or other material), the collars of the present invention preferably (although not necessarily) are attached to an engine guard extending from the sterns of many boats, thus utilizing existing components in addition to the hulls for support.
Although those skilled in the art will recognize that split portions of the innovative collar assemblies disclosed herein may exist anywhere around the periphery of a particular boat, for many boats the split portion of the assembly will be is positioned at the stern of its associated boat. In this circumstance, the ends of the collar adjacent the split may be covered with a common piece material effectively functioning as a sling when connected to the engine guard. Irrespective of the location of the ends, covering them with a common piece of material also inhibits air and water from flowing between the ends, which might otherwise tend to try to separate them at high boat speeds or in rough seas.
It thus is an object of the present invention to provide collar assemblies extending substantially or completely about the peripheries of various watercraft.
It is another object of the present invention to provide collar assemblies which, at least because they extend around sterns of craft, provide increased buoyancy.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide collar assemblies which may be installed other than by lowering them onto the external surfaces of boat hulls, thus reducing risk of damage caused by contact with antennae or superstructures protruding upward from the hulls.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide collar assemblies which do not include a continuous collar, but rather a split one with (at least) two distinct ends.
It is, moreover, an object of the present invention to provide collar assemblies in which collars are connected to engine guards extending outward from sterns of craft.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide collar assemblies in which a common piece of material covers adjacent ends of a collar.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art with reference to the remainder of the text and the drawings of this application.